Master of Puppets
by A'isha Ishtar
Summary: It took one look for her to fall for him. It took one touch for him to break her, as he did all his other toys. There was one difference, though: she wasn't going to let him give up on her. She was going to make him fix her. eventual Sasori/OC
1. Prologue: Encounter

**Disclaimerrrrrr: I DON'T OWN NARUTO! So you crazy fans stop breakin' my door down... (J/K, I don't get attacked by random crazy Naruto fans... save for my friend who claims I am "Her Royal Evilness"... XD he's crazy!)**

**OK, so... remember how Chiyo was talking about how she had a secret project but had been forced to shut it down? Well, I decided that project was creating artifical humans - basically, human puppets. Kind of like Homunculi (if you're a Fullmetal Alchemist fan) only with specialized jutsu. And she _was_ forced to abandon her research, but not before she created... bum bum bummmmmm... Kurosuna no Nemu, the first artifically created human puppet. Slash... puppet wielder... XD**

**Well, hope you enjoy! This is just a prologue, and the next chapter is REALLY sad, I think... T-T**

"Nemu... that is her name."

"When will she awaken, Chiyo? Do you know? Have you planned that far ahead, sister?"

"I don't know. She is fully developed... I designed her to be the age of six years - that's just a year older than Sasori - and she is at that stage right now. She grew faster than I'd expected, actually... it took her three months. Look at her, Ebizo. She's so beautiful."

"Beautiful. Is that what you call it, Chiyo? She's a mess of artificial organs, bionic blood, synthetic skin, and the wires that are attached to it. Tell me, is that beautiful to you?"

"I don't care what you say, Ebizo. I don't care if you can't see her beauty - _I_ can. Look at her. You honestly can say she's not the lovliest creature you've ever seen?"

"Mmmm." The "creature" opened her eyes. She fluttered her lashes and tried to clear her vision. She couldn't see well at all - everything was simply blurred color. Where was she? Who was she? _What_ was she? She rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and looked out into the world.

Before her, she saw two elderly people - one man and one woman. Both their hair was graying, and they looked like siblings. The man had thick eyebrows and wore a cap over most of his hair, and the woman's hair was done up in a bun with some bangs left on each side of her face, a green band across her forehead. They both looked so kind. She blinked twice, and reached out a hand. All she wanted was to touch one of them. But her hand bumped something else. Something smooth and cold, and she shivered. She looked around, and realized she was in some sort of containment unit, or so it seemed. She looked back towards the two old ones, and began to talk. "Excuse me, but could you tell me where I am? And... and _who_ I am?"

The woman blinked. "Oh! I think she's trying to speak to us, Ebizo. Let me get the microphone on..." She pressed a button. "There. Can you hear us, Nemu?"

"Is that my name?" the girl asked softly, placing a hand to the cool, smooth surface that separated her from the two. "Where am I? And who are you?"

"Perfection!" The old woman clapped her hands twice. "Look at this, Ebizo. I've finally beaten the law of equivalent exchange. She's got her own heart and body and mind!"

"She has no soul," the man, Ebizo, pointed out blankly. "The law of equivalent exchange accounts for that. You built her, of course, and gave her a computer for a brain... developed a fake substance to run through her veins, and composed her organs of protein, built metal bones to attach synthetic muscle to. But she's not real, Chiyo. She can't be. If she has no soul of her own, she isn't a real person, sister."

"She'll develop a soul," the woman, Chiyo, argued against the man, who was obviously her brother. "In good time, Ebizo - all in good time, my dear brother! She will attain a personality of her own through daily life as a human, being a servant to the council and an apprentice to me. She will gain her soul, and she will be both a puppet... and a puppet _master_. How's that for irony, Ebizo?"

"It's definitely ironic. You have a twisted sense of humor, Chiyo, I'll give you that."

"My name," the girl spoke up. "Is it Nemu? Is that my name?"

"Yes," the woman, Chiyo, answered, turning her attention away from Ebizo and back to her. Her smile was warm and inviting, her dark eyes surrounded by laugh lines and her mouth defined by dimples. "Your name is Kurosuna no Nemu, and you are six years old. Yes... Nemu of the Black Sand, six years old. You will soon be trained, by me personally, to wield puppets. You yourself are a puppet... but don't feel guilty about controlling your brethren. They are nothing like you, dear." She traced over Nemu's smaller hand through the tank. "Soon, you shall be ready to leave your containment unit and explore the world. Then you can meet my grandson, Sasori! Oh, he'll love you so much. You're such a cute little thing, and he loves cute things."

Nemu touched her head and chest, and grew alarmed. Why were there strings attached to her body? "L-Lady Chiyo!" she called, frightened out of her newly formed mind. "What is this?"

Chiyo looked back. "Oh, those? They are wires that I connected to you, dear." She put her hand on top of a big black box that had some sort of screen with a jagged line. "This is the one that I attached to your chest. I set it up to monitor your heart rate and breathing pattern. The one connected to your head is keeping track of your brain waves. The rest of them are just monitoring your muscle tissue."

"_Artificial_ muscle tissue, you mean," Ebizo scoffed, heading for the door of the room. "I'm leaving now. Have fun playing with your new doll, sister." The door opened, closed, and he was gone.

"Well, that's fine, then." Chiyo sat down in a chair, grunting slightly. She picked up a book and leaned back. "We don't need that old fuddy-duddy, anyway. He was killing the party. Now... why don't we test your memory? Okay... I'll see if you can remember what I already told you. What is your name?"

"Um... Nemu. No, no... Kurosuna no Nemu."

"Good - you remember the entire thing. Now, how old are you, Nemu?"

"Uh... sev... no, six. I'm six... right?"

"Good, Nemu! That's right, you're six. And now, a bonus question. Can you remember my grandson's name?"

Nemu searched her mind, giving a frustrated sigh. She knew it... she did. It started with an "S"... "Sa..." she began, still trying to remember the rest. "Sas... o... rai?" She said the last part tentatively.

"Sasori!" Chiyo exclaimed, and Nemu became ashamed, for she had pronounced it wrong. "Good job, Nemu. That's correct. Your mind is well advanced, even just for a six-year-old human puppet. Your memory is functioning fine." She settled into her chair. "Ah... I think I'll take a nap. You should rest, as well, Nemu." She closed her eyes and started to go to sleep.

Nemu wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to go to sleep. So she just stayed there in her tank, keeping herself floating. She watched Chiyo, who slept with her book on her lap. She looked so peaceful, sleeping in her chair. Her chest rose and fell with the steady rhythm of her breathing, easy to follow. She hoped this woman would take good care of her. She was sure she would - after all, she seemed so nice.

All of a sudden, the door opened. A young boy of about five walked inside. His hair was a lovely carmine-pink, and his eyes were deep chocolate. He wore a pale green shawl around the shoulders of his white robe, and he was barefoot. He pulled the shawl tighter around himself, shivering lightly. "Ugh... it's always so cold in here... I hate it. Granny Chiyo? Uncle Ebizo?" He glanced over at her direction, and his eyes widened when he saw her. He walked closer toward her. "Wow... I knew Granny was working on a new project... but wow! This is so cool!" He put his hand to the glass. "Can you... can you _talk_?"

"I'm Kurosuna no Nemu. Lady Chiyo... she is asleep."

"Nemu. That's such a pretty name! I'm Sasori." He waved. "Cool."

"Lady Chiyo told me your name."

"You're awesome!" Sasori tried to wrap his arms around the big tank she was in. "I can't wait till she lets you out! We'll be best friends, I know we will! It'll be so fun! You can play with my puppets and you'll play dolls with me forever!"

Nemu smiled, placing her hand on the tank where the boy's face was. She couldn't feel his skin, but she could feel the heat radiating from his blush-clouded cheek. She decided she probably wouldn't mind that... staying with him forever.

**Yeah I know Sasori's a little out of character... but remember, he's still a kid. Don't worry, he's more in character for the next chapter. Okie-dokie? Well, it'll have to be XD OH BY THE WAY. Here you gooooo... preview of chapter 1.**

_"M-Master Sasori?" She could see him moving about the room, bustling through drawers and putting things into a bag. "What's going on? What are you doing?"_

_"Hmm?" He turned around, and she no longer had a view of his backside. As blush filled her cheeks, she shook her head - not that she **wanted** to, of course not. "Oh, Nemu, it's... it's nothing. Really." He sat down on the bed and ran his hand through her bangs. "Boy, am I going to miss you..."_

_"Miss me?" Nemu sat up at these words. Before she knew what she was doing, her hand shot out and grabbed him around the wrist. "Why will you miss me, Master Sasori? What's going on?"_

**Till next time,**

**-Ai-chan ^^**


	2. Simply a Look

Nemu had gotten lost in all the confusion. Something had caused a landslide, and now a sandy cloud of dust blanketed nearly the entirety of Sunagakure. She may have been a puppet, but that didn't mean she had no feeling at all. She was frightened, disoriented, and ready to collapse. She was shocked and devastated that everyone had forgotten her - not checking to make sure she was alright. The torrent of sand ripped and flurried around her, whipping her silver locks around her face and stinging her sensitive emerald eyes. Several grains slashed across her pale skin and created lacerations, allowing her synthetic blood to seep out. As this was one of the only times she'd ever seen herself bleed, she froze up. It reminded her that even though she was a human puppet, she _was_ only human. She was so much more human than all the other human puppets out there... she was vulnerable.

She tried to walk. She made an honest effort to propel herself forward and reach her master... she needed her master. But she lost her balance, sinking to her ankles in sand, and she couldn't move. She fell to the ground, shrieking in pain and terror. More sand cut across her body, drawing blood in various places, and possibly covering her a little. She got a mouthful of the stuff, and spit it out, trying to get up. She pushed herself up on her elbows, supporting herself on just her forearms. She couldn't see - the storm was too bad, reducing visibility for probably anybody to nearly zero. "L-Lady Chiyo!" she shouted, coughing. "Lady Chiyo, where are you? Please help me!"

Another thought occurred to her. Where was her best friend in all this madness? Where was the boy she had grown up with? Choking on more sand and trying to keep it out of her mouth, she knew she needed to find Sasori. She had to find him, keep him safe. It was her responsibility to shield him from any harm. Whatever had caused this landslide and massive dust storm could hurt him, she had to make sure that didn't happen. "Master Sasori!" she yelled. It wasn't just the sand making her eyes water as she searched for her younger master. "Master Sasori, where are you?" The wind knocked her over again and she fell the opposite way, landing on her backside. She tried not to let any more tears leak through her eyes, but she failed. She slumped down, not wanting to get up. She wanted to find Sasori... she _needed_ to find Sasori... but she was so worn-out, and her head hurt... she just didn't feel like getting up. "Sasori," she moaned, sobbing. She hoped by some chance of fate he might find her. "Sasori, please. Help me..." Sand entered her mouth and she spat and coughed, turning her head the other way as she expelled it from her body. It tasted so foul, not even meant to be swallowed in the first place. "_Master Sasori, please help me_!"

Out of the blue, she felt the back of a hand on her cheek. The touch was cool and soothing, like the hand of a mother on the face of her child. "Nemu, why are you crying so?" It was Sasori's voice! He slid one hand under the small of her back, and the other pressed against the back of her knees. "Don't worry, I'm here. I've got you. No more crying, love." She felt him lift her into the air, and out of nowhere he was carrying her. "Don't worry. You're alright. I've always taken good care of you, haven't I? That isn't going to change. I'm here... so you're going to be fine."

That made such perfect sense - Sasori was so eloquent. He always had been, ever since they were children. Despite the sting of the sand grains, Nemu forced her eyes to open. Her vision was blurry, thanks to the scratches the sand had caused. But she was able to make out the distinct shape of her master and best friend. She smiled a little as her eyes traced about his ethereal crimson hair, and his slim but athletic body wrapped in black clothes. His face was currently a featureless knob to her, but she knew that buried in it somewhere were those beautiful chocolate eyes that were so much of a beacon to her. She allowed her body to curl up and cuddled against his chest. He was warm and comforting, easy for her to sink into and just let go of everything. She tugged at the sleeve of his shirt, feeling like a helpless child who just wanted to be held.

"It's alright, Nemu." Just his voice was enough of a security for her to feel as though she were completely surrounded by safety. He would always take care of her; she knew that. He was her master, of course he would always be there for her. "Calm down. You're alright now."

She felt him set her down on what she thought was a bed. Had he brought her back to the house? Her vision cleared just the slightest, and she could at least see his eyes now. His lovely, dark pools of brown that went deeper than she could imagine... "M-Master Sasori?" She could see him moving about the room, bustling through drawers and putting things into a bag. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

"Hmm?" He turned around, and she no longer had a view of his backside. As blush filled her cheeks, she mentally shook her head - not that she _wanted_ to, of course not. "Oh, Nemu, it's... it's nothing. Really." He sat down on the bed and ran his hand through her bangs. "Boy, am I going to miss you..."

"Miss me?" Nemu sat up at these words. Before she knew what she was doing, her hand shot out and grabbed him around the wrist. "Why will you miss me, Master Sasori? What's going on?"

"Nemu, it's really nothing major. I promise." He pried her hand off his wrist and replaced his wrist with his hand. His fingers curled up against hers, wrapping around them. "Look, I'm just... I'm going away for a while. That's all. But I need you to promise me something." He grabbed her chin and yanked her face towards him. It hurt, and she couldn't fathom why he would hurt her. He never had before... he had sworn to her that he'd never lay a hand on her in malice. "Nemu, look at me when I'm talking to you! This is already hard on me, and you're making it worse!" He took a breath. "Nemu... I'm sorry. But I have to leave."

Nemu felt her lower lip trembling. In the years she'd been with Sasori, she had hardly ever cried. But this was too much. Why was he leaving her? Had she done something wrong? "M-Master... are you leaving because of me? I'm sorry... I'll do better, I promise..."

"Nemu, no... no." He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her back, drawing her closer to him... closer than she'd ever been. "I'm not leaving because of anything you did or said. This has nothing to do with you. I need you to know that. If I left because of you... it would be my fault. If I left because of you, it would be because I had the gall to hit you and I felt guilty. But that's not... I would never hit you, do you understand that? Never..."

Nemu wrapped her own arms around Sasori. "I know... of course you wouldn't hit me. You told me you'd never hurt me."

"If only it were always that simple to believe..." He shook his head, running a hand through his own hair. "Oh, Nemu... I'm afraid this is good-bye for a while." He let go of her and stood up, slinging that bag over his shoulder. "I need you to... just be strong, okay? Be strong for me. Listen to Granny Chiyo... and Ebizo, if need be. Stay alive - don't let anybody beat you down. I know you're stronger than to just sit there and take a beating. I raised you better. Be good for Granny... and just wait for me." He stood up, and ruffled her bangs one last time. "We'll meet again. Until then..." He leaned down and gave her a swift peck on the cheek, pulling her close for just a fraction of a second. "Be a brave little puppet for me."

With that, he vanished, leaving nothing but a flutter of air.

Nemu fell back on the bed and felt tears coming to her eyes again. She let them flow, clutching her head and recoiling into a tight ball. "M-Master..." She let herself cry, and cry, until she was screaming with her tears.

All of a sudden, the door flew open, nearly cracking the wall. "Nemu! What are you doing in here?" She recognized the voice as Chiyo. "Why are you in Sasori's room? Where is he?"

Nemu began to cry harder. She wailed, not sure where to turn for comfort now that her master had left her. "H-He's gone, Lady Chiyo!" She rubbed at her eyes. "He's gone!"

"Nemu!" At once Chiyo was by her side. "Nemu, you're crying! Why? What happened? What's wrong?"

"I... I know I have a heart, Lady Chiyo..." One of Nemu's hands found its way from her head to her chest, hovering above the left side. "Because now it has... why... has it stopped working? Why does it hurt so badly?" She collapsed on Chiyo's lap, a sobbing mess. "Lady Chiyo, am I broken?"

**OMG SO SAAAAAAAD!**

**... XD I'm a nerd...**

**OK so preview of the next chapter! In my opinion the next one is really really sad. :'(**

_Chiyo would catch her sitting there, making sounds like she was crying. And she would be repeating it to herself, over and over, like a horrifying mantra: "He'll come back. I know he will. He wouldn't abandon his greatest weapon, would he? Of course not. He'll be back to fix me..." Gullible as a child, she had really buried herself deep into believing that he was actually coming back._

_And if he ever did... like a fool, Nemu would welcome him with open arms._

"_No, he's not back yet," Chiyo finally answered as she began to wipe off the plates and put them away. "Why don't you come help me dry the dishes, Nemu? We can get something done while we wait for him to get here."_

_Nemu was silent for a moment, before replying to the older woman. "No... no, I think I'll just stay here and watch for him."_


	3. I'll Be Missing You

"Lady Chiyo. Lady Chiyo, is Master Sasori back yet?"

Chiyo turned her head to see what her prized achievement was doing now. A forlorn Nemu, now 36 years old (though she certainly didn't look it), sat by the window of their home. The still-youthful puppet had her arms spread out on the windowsill, her cheek resting on them. Her forehead was leaning against the glass of the windowpane, allowing her silvery hair (much longer now) to flow out down her back, nearly reaching her hips. Her verdant eyes stared, half-closed, out the window.

Chiyo went back to washing dishes, issuing a sigh as she did so. For the past twenty years, Nemu had been growing more and more... distant. She was still very cheerful, like she'd been as a child, but that was because of her hope - the false hope that Sasori would return to her. Chiyo knew Sasori wasn't coming back - even if he did, it certainly wouldn't be to reclaim Nemu.

But it was so sad to listen to, Nemu's near-constant hope. It was like a house by the sea built upon nothing but sand. For roughly two hours each day, for twenty years straight (so that would be about 14, 600 hours that Nemu had wasted), Nemu would sit and look out that tiny window, watching for Sasori. Every now and then, she would speak up, usually to Chiyo, sometimes to herself. Normally, if she was talking to Chiyo, her speech would go something like, "Lady Chiyo, when is Master Sasori coming back to fix me?" But Chiyo knew the meaning that lay underneath those words. A master at reading between the lines, she knew what Nemu was really asking: "When is Sasori going to stop hurting my heart?"

But that wasn't a question Chiyo could answer without hurting her artifically made "daughter" even further. She knew Sasori wouldn't ever stop causing Nemu pain. And as long as Nemu held on to the memories she had of Sasori, then she was only hurting herself.

Chiyo wasn't a mind reader - she didn't know how Nemu's thoughts functioned. But she suspected what was going on inside the puppet's head: a battle of epic proportions. She had long ago realized that Sasori was gone for good. But she was forcing herself to deny it - she was the type of person who delayed the pain for as long as possible. Each and every reprieve she was offered, she would take it - no matter how small. She wanted to put off accepting his defection for as long as she was able.

This was especially evident when Nemu sat at the window and talked to herself. Chiyo would catch the broken doll sitting there, making sounds like she was crying. And she would be repeating it to herself, over and over, like a horrifying mantra: "He'll come back. I know he will. He wouldn't abandon his greatest weapon, would he? Of course not. He'll be back to fix me..." Gullible as a child, she had really buried herself deep into believing that he was actually coming back.

And if he ever did... like a fool, Nemu would welcome him with open arms.

"No, he's not back yet," Chiyo finally answered as she began to wipe off the plates and put them away. "Why don't you come help me dry the dishes, Nemu? We can get something done while we wait for him to get here."

Nemu was silent for a moment, before replying to the older woman. "No... no, I think I'll just stay here and watch for him. He's probably missed me, you know... and I've missed him. I'd like to be the first person to give him a hug."

"Nemu..." Chiyo sighed again, reaching for the highest shelf. "Alright, but I could really use your help."

"I'm sorry, Lady Chiyo. I'll read to you tonight to make up... but this is the most reasonable time for Master Sasori to come home."

Chiyo shook her head. "Suit yourself, Nemu. But when I go fishing with Ebizo later this afternoon, you can just stay here and watch for Sasori."

There was a hint of detached delight (not unlike Sasori's own voice, she noticed) in Nemu's tone as she gave her response. "Nothing would make me happier, Lady Chiyo."

-xxx-

An incident concerning one of Nemu's memories about Sasori was probably as inevitable as a sandstorm here. It was likely only a matter of time until a painful reverie haunted the puppeteer; but Chiyo, being much like Nemu herself, would have wished to put the fit off a bit longer.

It happened shortly after Chiyo returned from fishing with (and playing pranks on) her brother. She had departed at three, and she came home at eight, leaving Nemu alone for five hours. During that time, she had given her creation a number of tasks to do around the house. Water the cacti, tidy the beds, rearrange the closets, scrub the basement floor, sweep excess sand from the herb cellar, make dinner. Nemu could have called the retired kunoichi an evil old stepmother, had these chores not been what Nemu, as an experiment, had been literally born to do. All of these things did get accomplished, but Chiyo assumed that Nemu had stopped several times while doing them. Those pauses were designatd for casting a longing gaze out the window, hoping to see Sasori. It was as if Nemu expected to see him strolling up the walkway, bag slung over his shoulder, a pleasant smirk tugging at his lips, happy to see her and ready for a hug, prepared to apologize for being gone so long. Chiyo knew this because Nemu was sitting at the window when she got home, but the list she'd left for her daughter was all completed.

Midway through getting dinner actually set out (earning an "I'm not hungry" from Nemu), Chiyo remembered something she had forgotten to do. And like always, little errands and runs to the Council were everyday assignments for Nemu. "Nemu!"

Managing to tear herself away from the window, Nemu stood up and slowly walked into the kitchen to her "mother". Her grassy eyes never left that little circle of glass in the living room, though she tried to focus on Chiyo. "Yes, Lady Chiyo?"

"I forgot to drop this off at the Kazekage's office." Chiyo held out a small, thin parcel to Nemu. "It's from the Leaf Village, so I would assume he wants it. Be a dear and run it over for me, Nemu?"

The puppet girl gave a nearly imperceptible nod, taking the package. "I will do this. Tell me if Master Sasori returns while I'm gone, Lady Chiyo?"

Even now, she was still thinking about that. "Of course I will."

"Thank you. I'll be back soon."

With that, Nemu rushed off to the Kazekage's palace. Her bionically enhanced legs enabled her to run at a slightly higher speed than most ninja were able. Still, it took her about a minute to reach the core of the city, where the Kazekage's home was located.

She knocked dutifully on the door and waited patiently. She could remember, with a laugh, that her patience had always set her apart from Sasori - he was the most impatient person in the world.

Finally a guard answered the door. "State your name and business."

"Kurosuna no Nemu." She held up the package. "Lady Chiyo forgot to give this to the Kazekage. I was supposed to deliver it personally."

"Granny Chiyo forgot, did she?" The guard's face softened as he looked at her, and he gave a chuckle. "Her age is definitely showing, no doubt of that." He opened the door wider for her. "The Kazekage's having a meeting with the Council, but I don't think they'll mind if you interrupt to give him that. Go on in, Nemu-chan. Don't be too long or the Council's gonna get on _my_ case for letting you in."

"Yes, sir." Nemu hurried inside and took a breath. She'd never really met the Kazekage before. She'd seen him on television (and at the ridiculous press conferences Chiyo dragged her to), but she'd never met him face-to-face. She wasn't sure what to expect. Tentatively poking into the meeting room, she blinked a few times. "... Kazekage-sama?"

"But that doesn't mean you can just go all out with our resources to-" one of the Council members was saying.

The teenage Kazekage, Gaara, held up a hand. "We have a visitor."

Taking note that his voice was raspy and intimidating, Nemu took a cautious step forward. "Good evening, Kazekage-sama. How are you?"

"I'm fine, and you?"

"Oh, I'm alright."

He stood up. "Kurosuna no Nemu. Am I correct, is that your name?"

Nemu nodded shortly. "Why are you... standing...?"

"I am honored to meet you. The first artifically created human puppet in the Hidden Sand Village? That deserves merit."

"O-Oh, no, Kazekage-sama, I am the one who is honored." She bowed her head. As she lifted it back up, she noticed some of the older Council members giving her dirty looks. "Ah..." She held out the thin package to him. "Lady Chiyo forgot to give this to you earlier, so she sent me to give it to you."

"Ah, thank you." Gaara took it, a thoughtful look settled upon his boyish features. "From the Leaf?"

"Yes."

"Good - then I've been expecting it. Thank you, Miss Nemu."

"Excuse me, Kazekage-sama!" one of the elders cried out. "We're in the middle of a meeting! We can't halt it for some girl! Now, what do you propose we do to track down Akasuna no Sasori?"

Nemu froze at this mention. Eyes wide with shock, she turned to face this Council member. "Sa... Saso... Sa... so... ri?" Even now she could already feel the tears welling in her eyes. "Why... Why are you talking about Master Sasori? Why? Why are you trying to find him?"

Gaara raised a hypothetical eyebrow (for he had no real eyebrows). "Do you know him, Miss Nemu?"

"Master Sasori... Master..." Nemu felt the artificial muscles in her legs weakening, and tears were let loose from her eyes' dam. Feeling faint and dizzy, she collapsed right there on the floor of the meeting room. She wailed and shrieked. "Master! _Master, why did you leave me_?" Tears flowed down her cheeks, temporarily staining the tile floor. "_You're the one who broke me_!"

Everyone just stared at her for a moment, their levels of surprise ranging from caught off guard to worried. At last, Gaara snapped his fingers, pointing at the young man seated next to him. As Nemu could plainly see, the boy was a puppeteer - face painted in a pattern, wearing a black jumpsuit, with a puppet wrapped up in bandages and strapped to his back. "Kankuro," Gaara said to the boy - for this seemed to be his name. "Please escort Miss Nemu back to Lady Chiyo's."

"Got it, Gaara." The boy, Kankuro, walked over and scooped Nemu up in his arms. As he did, he got close to her ear. "I'd use chakra strings, but that'd probably only make you feel worse." This attempt at humor failed, for Nemu kept on screeching, releasing virtually two decades' worth of the heartache she'd locked away for so long. "Alright, let's get you home." He hoisted her up, adjusting her in his arms, and began to walk through the cold desert night back to her mother's.

Nemu sobbed, letting her head loll away from Kankuro's chest. This position already felt far too familiar - far too painful. This was the way Sasori had carried her back to Chiyo's before he went out of her life forever twenty years ago. "Master Sasori! Master Sasori!"

"Shhh, Nemu-chan. It's okay. Aw, hey, that's not that way you're s'posed to lay on me." Kankuro used a gentle hand to guide Nemu's head back the other way, resting her temple against the fabric of his jumpsuit. "It's okay."

Nemu couldn't stop her sobs, and the tears still squeezed out down her face no matter how hard she tried. "H-He broke me, Kankuro. He b-broke me."

Kankuro shifted her in his arms, so that he was holding her closer and could stroke her back to calm her. "I know, Nemu-chan. I know he broke you."

"H-He's not coming... h-he won't..."

"Don't worry." Kankuro gave her a smile, though her tears blurred her eyes so she couldn't see it well. "He wouldn't leave something as great as you broken forever. He'll come back and fix you."

**OMG AWWW SO SAD! I loved writing the little exchange with Nemu and Gaara. Don't worry guys - some good action starts in the next chappie, I promise. SPEAKING OF WHICH... here's the preview. ^^**

_While Chiyo was looking through this box, she heard Nemu cry out. "Lady Chiyo! Lady Chiyo, come quick!"_

_Fearing something was wrong, Chiyo shoved Sesshoku and Chikara into her pocket and clambered up the steps. By the time she got to Nemu, she was nearly out of breath. "Nemu, what's the matter? What happened?"_

_Nemu was pointing excitedly out the window, bouncing up and down on her chair. A garish grin on her face, she almost looked like a child again. "Look, Lady Chiyo! Master Sasori is back!"_


	4. Please Come Back Home

"_Ohhh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight... lead me out on the moonlit floor... lift your open hand, strike up the band and make the fireflies dance... silver moon is sparkling... so kiss me..._"

Chiyo just barely picked up on this quiet, nearly inaudible sound. Curious, she came down out of the attic and peeked into the living room. Oh, well, that explained it. Nemu was sitting at the window again, cheek resting on her hand and hair tied up in a messy ponytail. That was a popular song in the Hidden Sand Village, and was often on the radio. But as Chiyo saw, the radio wasn't going. She could see Nemu's head swaying side to side just slightly, and then she realized at once what was going on.

Nemu was singing.

Chiyo walked closer to her creation. She was fascinated, as Nemu had never sung before - she would repeat things she heard on the radio, or on TV, but if it was singing she would simply say them. She remembered Sasori's seventh birthday party. It was kind of funny to see an eight-year-old talking the "Happy Birthday" song to her best friend while he just stared at her with the expression that clearly said, "What the hell is she doing?"

While Nemu's singing wasn't exactly the most mellifluous thing in the world, she wasn't very bad. At least she stayed on pitch, unlike some tone-deaf people (i.e. Ebizo). She was singing a happy, beautiful love song, but... she sounded so sad. She had changed things, and she was singing it in a melancholy key.

Chiyo came up behind Nemu and glanced out the window, hoping to see what Nemu saw. It didn't work, because she saw nothing. She knew that Nemu saw the swirl of sand bringing Sasori back to her, but that would never happen.

"Nemu..." She reached up and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you watching for Sasori?"

"Yes'm."

Chiyo sighed and shook her head. "Nemu... I need you to..." Chiyo let her hand slide away from Nemu's shoulder. "You do know that... Sasori is never coming back, right? You understand that, don't you?"

Nemu looked back for a few seconds, and blinked, before looking back out the window. "No, no, he's coming back, Lady Chiyo. I know he is. He wouldn't leave me broken forever, would he? No, he'll come back. He's almost here, I can feel it. He isn't very far now." She made a noise and lifted her hand, extending her index finger toward the window. "Oh, Lady Chiyo. Look at that little boy. He looks a bit like Master Sasori."

Chiyo glanced out the window. Nemju was pointing at a small redheaded boy walking with his mother. She was holding his hand, swinging his arm high up in the air. They were both smiling, laughing, and the little boy was hop-skipping along. "Yes. I suppose he does resemble Sasori. Would you like to take a break and play some Go with me?"

Nemu shook her pale head. "No, thank you. I'll just stay here and watch for Master Sasori. I can feel how close he is - he's going to be here soon."

"Alright, but it's not as much fun playing by myself, you know."

"Perhaps Ebizo-san would play with you, Lady Chiyo." Nemu didn't move a muscle as she spoke.

"Maybe I'll just... do some cleaning." Chiyo walked over to the basement door. "Call if you need anything, dear."

"Of course."

Chiyo began rearranging the basement, just to keep herself occupied and sane. She still had things of both Nemu's and Sasori's that the two had outgrown. Clothes they'd gotten too big for... toys they no longer played with. She came upon a small box marked "Nemu's Collection". Opening it up, she found the first puppet Nemu had ever made. It was fashioned from pink felt, and fit neatly over two fingers. Chiyo had to smile. It was an ugly, misshapen little finger puppet, which she remembered Nemu naming as "Sesshoku". The other puppet in the box, the one she had made for Sasori and named "Chikara", was much like Sesshoku was. But no matter how ugly or amateurish they were, Chiyo just couldn't find it in her heart to throw them away. They were Nemu's first creations as a puppet master; ignoring their appearance, they didn't deserve to be thrown away.

While Chiyo was looking through this box, she heard Nemu cry out. "Lady Chiyo! Lady Chiyo, come quick!"

Fearing something was wrong, Chiyo shoved Sesshoku and Chikara into her pocket and clambered up the steps. By the time she got to Nemu, she was nearly out of breath. "Nemu, what's the matter? What happened?"

Nemu was pointing excitedly out the window, bouncing up and down on her chair. A garish grin on her face, she almost looked like a child again. "Look, Lady Chiyo! Master Sasori is back! I told you he'd be here soon! You didn't believe me, but I knew!"

Startled, Chiyo gave Nemu a gentle shove away from the window. When she looked out, she was taken aback to see a large, hulking figure lumbering toward

the house. It wore a black cloak... decorated with red clouds. It moved much like an assassin: slowly but with an unmistakable killing intent. Backing away, Chiyo realized what was going on. That wasn't Sasori's true form, yet Nemu recognized it and linked it to her master; it was Sasori's puppet, Hiruko. Remembering her grandson's favorite marionette, she knew that he was inside of it. Hiding behind a suit of armor... had he really become that much of a coward? She put a hand on Nemu's back, pushing her toward the basement stairs. "Nemu, go down there!"

"But Lady Chiyo, Master Sasori is back for me! He's going to fix me! Why do you want me to-"

"Nemu, just go! You must hide. That... that _thing_ is not the Sasori you remember! If he finds you he's not going to fix you - he's just going to break you even more! You don't want that, do you? Into the basement with you! I'm headed out the back door to the Council to inform them of this. If he gets into the house, don't come out. And if he comes after you, escape through that little window in the basement. Don't let him get you."

"But Master Sasori is not-"

"Nemu, now is not the time for your foolish desires! Sasori is_ not_ the same man he was before he left! He _will_ kill you if you give him that chance! And I do not want you to give him that chance! Now go!"

Wasting no time as Chiyo made a swift departure, Nemu stole away down into the basement. It was dark and cramped, but luckily Nemu was fairly flexible. She stood behind a stack of boxes, rigid and barely hidden, but inside her heart and mind were conflicting. She thought about what Chiyo had said, but even though the old woman was her creator, she couldn't decide if she believed her or not. She'd said that Sasori would kill her if he got the chance. But Nemu couldn't imagine that. She'd known Sasori for over three decades (granted, he wasn't around for two of them), and he was a kind, gentle person. She couldn't remember him killing anything more than a spider. He wouldn't kill her, would he? Before he'd left twenty years ago, he'd told her he'd never hurt her.

But still, she was frightened. Twenty years could change a person. She remembered the Kazekage, Gaara, as a child. Even though she'd never met him, she sat at that window watching for Sasori, and sometimes Gaara would be out there. She would sit at the window, and she could see him sitting sadly on the swings, all by himself. Even one _day_ had changed that lonely little boy. One day he'd just snapped... just stopped caring. He'd become an unstoppable killing machine, quick to anger and difficult to pacify. And now... he'd changed again, for the better this time. All that over a period of maybe nine, ten years at most.

Maybe Sasori _had_ changed. Maybe he _would_ kill her if he found her.

A sudden explosion rocked the house, jolting Nemu out of her intense introspection. She lost her balance, and stumbled to the floor. The noise alone was deafening, frightening, but coupled with the tremors that all but bowled her over, this was downright terrifying. She crawled behind more boxes, whimpering and clutching her head as she hoped not to be seen.

A masculine voice rang out through the place: "Was that all you needed my art for, hmm, my man?"

Another voice answered. It was deep and more like a growl. "That will be all, Deidara. I don't want to be around your mockery of art any longer than is necessary. Now go finish the mission."

"Hey, my man? I wondered... what are you looking for in _here_, anyway, hmm?"

"None of your business, you nosy brat."

"But I want to know, hmm!"

"If it'll make you shut up, sure... I'm looking for a puppet."

"A puppet? That's it, hmm? That's so lame! Why d'you want a silly old puppet, hmm?"

"Well, I guess you could say she's the first puppet my grandmother ever made for me. I've almost forgotten what her voice sounds like. I've just come to claim what's mine."

"So it's a _girl_ puppet, hmm? Guess that explains it then..."

"Just get out of here. I have no further use for you _or_ your... fireworks."

"Fireworks, hmm? You just remember that the next time you need a door blown up. Ja ne, _hmm_!"

Nemu had listened to the two voices banter back and forth, and it was plain to hear their blatant distaste for each other. But could one of them really be her master? She could hear something moving around above the basement. It was heavy enough to be creaking the floorboards, so it was probably really big. And big usually translated to either "dangerous" or "scary"... Nemu wasn't a huge fan of either one. Could it truly be Sasori? She wasn't sure anymore. Neither voice had sounded like Sasori's soft-spoken, smooth lilt. She got to her knees, preparing to go through the window if necessary.

The growling voice called out again. "Nemu, where are you? It isn't nice to hide from your friends. I taught you better than to show fear. Where are you? I know you're in here. Granny wouldn't leave the house unless she had someone to watch it - and of course you're the obvious choice. Why won't you come out and play with me? We haven't played together in so long. And really, you have nothing to fear from your master."

The tears welled up in Nemu's eyes as she crouched behind the boxes. _Lies..._ she thought. _I'm afraid you won't fix me... that you'll just break me again.. that's what I fear from you, Master Sasori..._

"Alright, Nemu! I've been patient long enough!" The voice grew louder and angrier. "You know I hate waiting - you're lucky I waited _this_ long! Why do you insist on keeping me waiting? Come out and show your face!"

Nemu shot up, hurrying over to the window. No... she refused to believe that this monster was her beloved master.

The door to the basement suddenly burst open, so hard it just about flew off its hinges. "_Nemu_!"

Nemu shimmied out the small window, and began to run.

**OMG I ish soooo glad peoples like this story. Thanks to all who read and review (ESPECIALLY REVIEWWWWW!) and SPECIALIZED thanks to Katarina Wolffe who faithfully reviews every chapter, sun, rain, or snow... or hail... or RANDOM FALLING NINJAS FROM THE SKY! XD**

**The song Nemu was singing is "So Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer. OH DEAR JASHIN I love that song... XD**

**Oh and "ja ne" means "see you later" in Japanese. ^^ AND YES. I'm using the English Deidara who calls Sasori "my man". I think it's lame but at the same time it shows the casual yet respectful way that Deidara views Sasori. And Sasori, as usual, just calls Deidara "brat" XD**

**Keep reading and reviewing! Here's a preview:**

"_In my opinion, you're more trouble than you're worth, hmm."_

_Nemu coughed, pushing her bangs away from her face. "Who - Who are you?" she yelled, making sure she was heard over the wooshing of the wind._

"_The name's Deidara, hmm," he called back over his shoulder. "You?"_

"_Kurosuna no Nemu - Nemu of the Black Sand."_

"_Hmm, really? My man Sasori is of the Red Sand. I wonder if there's any correlation... hmm?" He let out a cackle._

_Nemu suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach - not the kind like airsickness, but the kind like "Oh-my-God-someone-I-know-is-gonna die-today". She turned her head slowly to look over beside her. She shrieked, seeing Gaara lying there, motionless. "**Kazekage-sama**!"_


	5. Crawl Toward Your Master

Nemu ran barefoot across the scorching desert landscape, the hot sand burning the soles of her feet. She hated to think of the blisters she'd receive from this, but she had to run. If she didn't run, Sasori would get her. And if Chiyo was right... then he would kill her.

She didn't get very far, though. She noticed the sky darkening and became frightened by this sudden change. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked up to see a blanket of sand suspended about the entirety of the city. Moments later it dissipated, drawing back to its source. Nemu followed it with her eyes to see that it was going back to the roof of the Kazekage's palace. What the hell was going on over there?

Confused, she wasn't sure where to go now. She looked all around, but none of the four directions seemed all that appealing. She felt her head throbbing, blood pounding against her skull and rushing over her temples.

Out of virtually nowhere, a giant white bird swooped down. Nemu thought for sure it was going to crash into her, and screamed bloody murder. But it didn't. It came down alongside her, and a hand grabbed the back of her shirt.

She screeched as she was pulled up onto the bird. She was set behind the person. Once she regained sense of up and down, she looked in front of her to see who it was. She saw a young man with long blonde hair, dressed in a black robe which was embellished with crimson clouds. Part of his hair was gathered into a high ponytail on top of his head. He was "steering" (for lack of a better word) the giant animal, but he was reckless. She felt like she was going to be sick.

He slowed down a little bit. When he looked back at her, she saw that his left eye was covered by a long, wide fringe of his golden hair. His other eye was a pale blue, and had been thinly traced with eyeliner. He gave her a smirk, chuckling a little. "So you're my man's dolly, hmm?" It was the same voice she'd heard earlier, the one who had been talking about her being a silly old puppet. "Pretty enough, I guess, but..." He rolled his eyes, the smirk still there, and turned around. "In my opinion, you're more trouble than you're worth, hmm."

Nemu coughed, pushing her bangs away from her face. "Who - Who are you?" she yelled, making sure she was heard over the wooshing of the wind.

"The name's Deidara, hmm," he called back over his shoulder. "You?"

"Kurosuna no Nemu - Nemu of the Black Sand."

"Hmm, really? My man Sasori is of the Red Sand. I wonder if there's any correlation... hmm?" He let out a cackle.

Nemu suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach - not the kind like airsickness, but the kind like "Oh-my-God-someone-I-know-is-gonna die-today". She turned her head slowly to look over beside her. She shrieked, seeing Gaara lying there, motionless. "_Kazekage-sama_!"

"So you know him? Good, hmm." Deidara let out a low laugh. "He was a pain in the ass to capture. I had to resort to a trick, hmm. Do you believe it? A lowly _trick_. Mixed some of my bombs with his sand when he wasn't paying attention, hmm. Y'know what I do? I blow it _up_, hmm! Ha-ha-ha!"

Nemu whimpered, scooting away from the unconscious teenager. This action caused her balance to become messed up, and she nearly toppled off the giant bird. She yelped and threw her arms around the blonde, Deidara. She sobbed and pressed her cheek to the back of his cloak. "No! No, no, no!"

"Calm down," he scoffed. "You're not gonna fall off, hmm. Keep holding onto me if you want, but then I'll have to try harder not to screw up my balance."

"Mmmm." Nemu held tighter around his waist, squeezing him tightly and pressing her face into his back. She didn't really care who he was or what he was doing - at the moment, she was relying solely on him for protection. "Don't let me fall, don't let me fall, Deidara-senpai!"

"Girl, I just _told_ you I'm not gonna let you fall. And don't cling so hard, hmm. You'll make me swerve. Calm down." He lifted one hand off the bird and pressed two fingers against the inside of his ear. "Hmm? Where do you want me to bring her? Oh, okay, hmm. I'll be there in ten seconds - less if possible. Alright, bye, my man. Hmm."

Nemu dug her face out of Deidara's back and looked up at him. "D-Deidara-senpai? What... Where are you taking me?"

He looked back and gave her another arrogant sneer. "To your so-called _master_... hmm."

Seconds later, Deidara brought the bird down to the ground. Waiting for them was a giant... _thing_. It was the same thing she'd seen in the window and mistaken for Sasori, and it wore a robe similar to the one that Deidara sported. Nemu was afraid, and threw herself behind Deidara, the only one she could trust at the moment. He may not have been someone she wanted to get involved with, but at least he kept her somewhat safe. Whereas this monster... she didn't know what it would do to her. She was honestly scared of him... it, whatever _it_ was.

"Aw, c'mon, Nemu-chan." Deidara pivoted around and tugged at he arm, trying to pull her out of the "home base" of his back. "Don't be scared, hmm. It's just your master."

She whined and resisted, just holding tighter to the back of the blonde's cloak. "That's _not_ Master Sasori! That's Hiruko-sama, and Hiruko-sama is scary!"

Deidara put his arms around her, obviously unsure of what to do. He looked back over at Hiruko, then down at the child-like woman currently in his possession. "Sasori, my man... she thinks you're controlling Hiruko-senpai from somewhere else."

"Well, I hope you can tell her differently in the next five seconds. We're running out of time."

"Umm..." Deidara petted Nemu's silvery hair, giving her a rather nervous smile. "Nemu-chan! My man Sasori is _inside_ Hiruko-senpai, see?" She was still shaking, so he turned her to face the puppet. "Manipulating the puppet show from the inside - y'know, from Hiruko-senpai's guts."

"So very eloquent, brat. The ladies must love you."

"As a matter of fact, they _do_, hmm! Not that it's really any of your business, my man... but the beautiful girls love an artist... hmm."

"Brat, you're not an artist. You're a pyromaniac, is what you are."

"Like I said earlier, hmm, you remember all the mean things you say about me - and _to_ me, for that matter, hmm - the next time you need something blown up. Just _see_ if I do it." He turned his attention back to Nemu. "Nemu-chan, I'll ask him something only the real Sasori-danna would know, hmm. What do you want me to ask him?"

"Ask," she whispered, "if he knows the names of the first two puppets I made."

"Okay, hmm." He looked over. "Hey, my man! What did she call the first two dolls she made, hmm?"

An annoyed groan was heard. "Of all the pointless things you could have... the one you kept for yourself was Sesshoku, and the one you made for me was Chikara."

Nemu let go of Deidara, sliding he legs over the side of his bird. "Master... is it really you, Master Sasori?"

"I've been trying to tell you that for the past five minutes," he grunted. "Now come on."

Deidara helped Nemu down off his bird. "Maybe it would be easier for her if you took Hiruko-senpai off and let her see your face, hmm."

"And allow her to mangle it? She's probably furious at me for leaving twenty years ago. I'm not about to let her turn me into that Mr. Potato Head that Tobi plays with all the time. I like all the parts of my face where they are - I don't want my mouth ending up where my ear is supposed to be."

Deidara tousled Nemu's long locks. "She's not violent, hmm. She's like a little... like a little kid. Don't you like kids, hmm?"

"I hate _brats_, like you." Controlling Hiruko, Sasori waved the puppet's tail in a beckoning gesture. "Come, Nemu. I'll take Hiruko off when we get back to base, would that make you happy?"

"B-Base...?" Nemu commented, walking just a little closer to Sasori.

"Of our organization," Deidara answered. "Akatsuki, hmm."

Nemu glanced back at the blonde. "Bless you, Deidara-senpai."

Deidara laughed. "It means 'Red Dawn'. My man and I both work for it. I s'pose you will now too, hmm? Isn't she going to, my man?"

"She's my subordinate, but yes - if Leader-sama agrees, she will become a part of Akatsuki." Out of the blue, Hiruko's tail shot out and wrapped around Nemu. She screamed and struggled to get out of the tail's iron grasp. "Stop fidgeting, Nemu. You've always had a problem with that." He placed her on top of his back. "Deidara, there are some brats trying to get the Kazekage back. Deter them and take them off my trail."

"Okay, hmm. But be back at the cave as soon as possible for the sealing ritual, right?"

"I'll hurry, I just need to grab something. Wouldn't want to keep you waiting, brat."

"Alright. Hmm." Deidara gave Nemu a half-smile, half-smirk. "I'm gonna go away for a while, Nemu-chan. But you'll see me again soon, hmm. Be good and listen to my man."

Deidara then flew off... leaving Nemu alone with her master.

**HEY WONDERFUL PEOPLES. I lurvs you all sooooooooo so much. Thanks for the all the reviews! By the way, you people who click on this and doth not review... REMEMBER THAT I LIKE REVIEWS MORE THAN HITS AND I CAN SEE EVERYBODY WHO'S CLICKING ON THIS STORY THINGY.**

**Oooooh, things started to get heavy in this chapter. She met Deidara! - who apparently she trusts more than Sasori right now. Deidara is almost as awesome as Sasori. Don't tell either of them, but... I AGREE WITH BOTH OF THEIR VIEWS OF ART. *dodges flying clay and puppet limbs* DON'T KILL ME, DEIDARA-SENPAI, SASORI-DANNA! T.T**

**Well, I think I've been more than long-winded enough... so I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Next chapter: Nemu sees the Akatsuki base! (I think either chapters 6, 7, and 8 are probably going to be some THE worst ones for sadness... so sorry when I get there!) Here's teh preview!**

"_What the hell are you talking about, you're broken? Far as I can see, you're still in one piece."_

"_..." Nemu shifted on Hiruko's back. "Master Sasori?"_

"_What?"_

"_Even if you can't see something... that doesn't mean it isn't broken, right? You taught me that. If there's a mechanism inside one of the puppets... and it's not functioning correctly... even if you can't see it from the outside, it still needs fixing, doesn't it?"_


	6. To My Marionette

Nemu wasn't quite sure what to expect now that she was the only other person with her master. Now that she was sure it really was him, she didn't know what to say or do. It was quite clear that he'd changed - he was willing to hurt her, after all. The Sasori she knew would never have done that. The Sasori she knew wouldn't ever think of hurting her.

If he had changed concerning something like that, who knew how else he had changed?

So she remained riding on the back of Hiruko, her hands clutching tightly to the bedsheet of a robe it was covered with. The cloth was different, foreign to her fingertips. Closing her eyes halfway, she idly wondered what kind of material it was - but this was really just to distract herself. Eventually (meaning after about five seconds) she regained her train of thought, and she couldn't stop it from chugging from her brain right out her mouth. "I missed you while you were gone."

He scoffed at her from inside Hiruko, sounding fed up with her. Maybe he hadn't missed her quite as much as she'd missed him. But if he hadn't missed her, then why had he taken the time to come get her? You didn't take time out of your busy schedule - Sasori's seemed to consist mostly of ransacking villages, killing people, and having art fights with Deidara - to pick up somebody that you hated with a passion. "Stupid girl. I thought I taught you not to..." He trailed off. "Che... lost it."

"No, no..." She bent down so that she was staring into Hiruko's eyes. She doubted that Sasori was looking out them, but it was good enough. She felt like she could see Sasori's brown eyes through Hiruko's black ones, so she'd take what she could get. "What were you going to say? What did you teach me not to do, Master?"

It was almost as if Hiruko was glaring at her, and she had a feeling that Sasori was too. "I _thought_ I taught you not to form emotional attachments. They're useless to you - you have no need for them. They don't serve a purpose."

"Then why did you come and get me? If you didn't care about me then why would you..."

"That's not the same, Nemu. Let me put this into simple terms. You are my property - you are my puppet, my possession, my _toy_. You're not anything more than that to me. How could you be? You're not real."

Nemu raised a fist, and brought it down on Hiruko's head. An empty, hollow sound resonated, proving her point. "You're not real either. You're wooden."

"This isn't me though - it's my armor."

"But still... even if I'm not real, and if I'm just a possession... if I really mean nothing to you, why would you take me? If I don't serve you any purpose, why would you want me?" She was suddenly reminded of the cracking in her chest - the splintering that began twenty years ago. "I'm... I'm broken. Useless."

"You've still got some use in you. You're able to accomplish household tasks, aren't you? That brat Deidara is always messing up my room... you could straighten everything faster than I could. Besides, I don't like having to do it - it's wasted time I could have spent on my art. And what the hell are you talking about, you're broken? Far as I can see, you're still in one piece."

"..." Nemu shifted on Hiruko's back. "Master Sasori?"

"What?"

"Even if you can't see something... that doesn't mean it isn't broken, right? You taught me that. If there's a mechanism inside one of the puppets... and it's not functioning correctly... even if you can't see it from the outside, it still needs fixing, doesn't it?"

"Where are you going with this, Nemu?"

Lifting a hand from the fabric of his cloak, she pressed her fingers to the left side of her chest, resting just above her breasts. "I think... something isn't working inside of me. And just because you can't see that it's broken, that doesn't mean I don't need repaired... right? Whatever it is, it's... been broken for twenty years. And it hurts. And Lady Chiyo couldn't fix it for me... she didn't want to cut me open. Maybe... Maybe you could try?"

"Maybe when I get back from the mission. I'd like to see... broken, indeed!" He "hmmph"ed and shook his head. "Do you still get infusions of chakra every day?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"Ano **(1)**... Lady Chiyo says it's as much as a normal ninja needs to function. How much is that?"

He ignored her question. "How much have you used today? Do you know?"

Nemu lifted her shirt to reveal her torso, and with her fingers she drew out the chakra counter, which was just a bunch of glowing blue numbers. After seeing its reading, she waved it away and pulled her shirt back down. "It says I have eighty percent left, Master Sasori."

"Good. Use twenty-five percent of it, and I'll use twenty-five percent of my own. I need you to concentrate and get yours in alignment with mine - because I know where we're going, and you don't. Use the Teleportation Jutsu."

"Yes, Master."

-xxx-

Nemu nearly fell off of Hiruko when they landed. She had never been good at Teleportation Jutsu, and rarely kept her balance when using it. She scrambled down off of Hiruko and stood by a wall. She wondered when Sasori was going to take Hiruko off. She hadn't seen his face in twenty years, except for the pictures she kept of him.

She carefully climbed down off Hiruko and shook out her hair, then tied it back into a ponytail as she followed him into a room. "Master Sasori, when can I see your face?"

"Shut up." He gestured Hiruko's tail to point at a drawer. "Open that up, will you?"

Nemu opened it. "What do you want me to get out of it?"

"I'll get it." Hiruko's tail shot into the drawer and wrapped around something. When he drew it out, Nemu saw that it was a bottle of specialized oil. "Here, use this," he grunted as he tossed it at her.

Barely catching it, Nemu looked at it, blinking. "M-Master... why are you giving me this? I've had all my repairs except for..."

"Damn it, I'm not stupid. Your right leg is creaking - it was driving me crazy. Use that."

"Can I see your face now, Master?"

Hiruko's eyes shifted to the clock on the nightstand, and he growled in response. "Damn. We don't have any time for that, Nemu. The ritual's starting, and I must be there."

"Why? Do they need you?"

"Damn it, Nemu, what is your problem?" Without any warning, Hiruko's tail whipped over and smacked her in the face. "You accept whatever your master says! Whether you're curious or not, you keep your mouth shut!"

The blow knocked her over, and she fell against the wall. A bruise formed on the left side of her collarbone, which had been left exposed by the tank top she wore. The mark receded a bit, not serious enough to draw blood, but she still reached up to touch it. "M-Master..." She felt tears welling in her eyes, but she fought to keep them from spilling over. She didn't want to give him any more reason to think that she was weak... even though she knew that she was. "You... You promised... that you'd never hit me..."

"Change happens, Nemu!" Hiruko's tail wrapped itself around her waist, drawing her closer to the puppet's masked face. "You've changed too. You ran away from me. You shouldn't have done that."

"B-But you were... Lady Chiyo said you'd kill me..."

"So now you hold more respect for that old bat than you do for me? Is that it? She's got one foot in the grave, unlike me! I'm your master, Nemu, and you listen to me before _anyone_ else!" The tail's grip on her tightened. "I'm. Your. _Master_. And yet you tried to run from me. You shouldn't have done that. What, exactly, have I done for you over the years, Nemu? Hmm? I was the one who helped you with puppetry. Granny may have taught you how to manifest chakra strings, but when you had trouble with anything, did _she_ help you? No, _I_ did. I spent God knows how many nights up with you trying to imprint the skills into your thick head. Who was it that put on that stupid puppet show for you when your favorite television program was canceled? When you were seven? Do you remember _that_? And what about when you were ten? Do you remember contracting that nasty case of pneumonia? I'm sure the sensation of not being able to breathe isn't something you easily forget. Who sat by your bed while you were sick, keeping you company, singing to you, running their hands through your hair and holding your hand because you wanted them to be with you? Who was it that oiled your joints when you got stiff and couldn't move? Who attached chakra strings to you... and gave you that first bond, that feeling of belonging somewhere? Don't think I couldn't sense how you felt, Nemu. I knew how happy you were when I attached chakra strings to you for the first time." He loosened Hiruko's grasp a little. "I did all of those things - it was all me, wasn't it?" **(2)**

Nemu groaned, struggling. "Master... can you please...? Please let me go... you're hurting me... you promised me you'd never hurt me but you are now... why?"

"Like I said, people change!" Hiruko's tail let her go, allowing her to slump back onto the floor. "Get up, Nemu. Have you really gotten that weak?"

Nemu shakily stood up, and was surprised to find that her hair had come out of its ponytail. "Master, I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... but I waited for you... see? I waited, just like you asked me to... I did what you told me to do..."

"Che. You've spent too much time with Granny. She's made you so soft... hasn't she? Hmmph." Hiruko's body circled around her - quite awkwardly, but she wasn't going to open her mouth again and get herself in even more trouble than she was already in. "If I'm looking correctly, you've become like a mini version of her. Except, I don't believe she's quite so..." Hiruko's tail smacked her again, this time on the cheek. "Durable." She could practically hear the smirk in Hiruko's voice. "See? That would have broken her cheekbone. You're much stronger in terms of body, but..." He made Hiruko shake his head and sigh. "But you're still so weak. Looks like I'm going to have to retrain you. I'll have to drill the abilities of puppetry back into your brain... no matter, I've all the time in the world. We'll start when the ritual is over. Get back up there or I'll drag you back up."

Nemu took a leap, landing on Hiruko's back. She took a few seconds to finger her now bruised cheek, then rested the uninjured on on the cloak. "Do you need my chakra again, Master?"

"Use the same amount as last time. I'll do likewise."

Nemu placed her hands palm-down on Hiruko's back and focused her chakra to somewhat meld it with his. That was really the only way she could explain it - they were combining their chakra.

Before she knew it, they were in the middle of a large cave.

**OMG what's gonna happen now? XD If you've seen/read Shippuden (which you pretty much would have had to do to know about Sasori), I think you people KNOW what's comin'... BUT I AIN'T SAYIN' NOTHIN'.**

**(1) Ano - "um"**

**(2) OH JASHIN. SASORI YOU LONG-WINDED BASTARD. XD**

**Here's teh preview!**

"_I... needed to be punished. So Master Sasori punished me."_

_This seemed to anger Deidara, for the blush rose in his face as well, as he looked down at her. His gaze snapped over to Sasori, and he outright glared at the puppet master, who was protected by Hiruko. "My man, how could you hit her? Even I wouldn't be that cruel, hmm."_

"_She was being an idiot."_

"_That's no reason to hit her."_

"_You're saying you wouldn't hit Tobi if he was being even more of an idiot than usual?"_

_The blush grew darker. "Th-That's different, hmm! Nemu-chan, she..." He looked down, and a snarl drew his lip away from his teeth. "She... you shouldn't hit her, hmm."_


	7. Confrontation

Nemu got excited when she saw Deidara there again. Though he sat on top of the still-unmoving body of the Kazekage, she was happy that she got to see him again. He was fairly nice to her. She scrambled down off of Hiruko's back and ran to give him a hug. "Deidara-senpai!" She attacked him, throwing her arms around him and nuzzling his neck with her forehead as she dropped to her knees.

He chuckled, putting an arm around her in a half-hug. It was that kind of hug where the person was like "I'm a dude, I don't want to admit that I have feelings... but you're awesome." He lifted his arm away and ruffled her hair with a grin. "Nemu-chan!"

"Deidara, did you and the others already do the ritual?" Sasori interrupted their reunion.

"Yeah, hmm. We got tired of _waiting_ around for you and they went back to base."

"Asshole. Wouldn't have been late if it wasn't for Nemu."

Deidara was currently fondling Nemu's hair, ignoring his partner. "So did you have fun with my man the grump over there, hmm?"

When she pulled away, she looked down. "He... just needed to get me oil for a creaky joint. I don't think there's anything... _fun_ about it, really."

"Hmm." He reached up, and she thought his hand was going to grope her. But his fingers landed on her collarbone, and she realized he was examining her bruise. "How'd you get this, hmm? Run into something, you little klutz, you?"

Nemu felt her cheeks flushing with embarrassment, and looked down at the floor of the cave in humiliation. "I... needed to be punished. So Master Sasori punished me."

This seemed to anger Deidara, for the blush rose in his face as well, as he looked down at her. His gaze snapped over to Sasori, and he outright glared at the puppet master, who was protected by Hiruko. "My man, how could you _hit_ her? Even _I_ wouldn't be that cruel, hmm."

"She was being an idiot."

"That's no reason to hit her."

"You're saying you wouldn't hit Tobi if he was being even more of an idiot than usual?"

The blush grew darker. "Th-That's different, hmm! Nemu-chan, she..." He looked down, and a snarl drew his lip away from his teeth. "She... you shouldn't hit her, hmm."

Sasori scoffed. "Oh, so I get it. You don't think I should hit her because she's a _girl_. I had no idea you held such double standards, Deidara."

"It's not that!" Deidara yelled. "What's the matter with you, hmm? You're too blind to even see that she...!" He trailed off, glaring at the ground. "I'm not arguing about this right now, my man. We'll talk about it after the mission, hmm."

"You mean if you don't get yourself killed, brat."

"Oh please. I wouldn't die and make Nemu-chan's pretty face sad because she misses me."

"... Player."

"As if, hmm! At least I've _had_ girlfriends, and at least I'm not a _total_ asshole! All you care about is yourself, hmm, and you don't care if Nemu-chan cares about _you_!" He glared. "She really _shouldn't_ care, what with the way you treat her, but she still does! _Hmm_!"

Before any of them could say anything more, a landslide resounded outside of the cave. Frightened by the noise and shaking, Nemu buried her face in Deidara's chest, knowing he'd protect her. When she finally turned back, she was surprised to see Chiyo - in the company of a pink-haired girl with green eyes, a blonde boy with blue eyes, and a man with white hair whose face was mostly covered by a dark blue mask. She didn't recognize anybody else but Chiyo. She inched closer to Deidara and shook her head. Why did Chiyo come here? Was she looking for Nemu?

The blonde boy was glaring at Deidara. "You bastards! Where the hell do you think you're sitting?"

Deidara smirked, giving Nemu a gentle push to his right side, so she was as far away from Sasori as possible. "Well, so much for that mystery... hmm. This kid's the Jinchuriki. He's the one who bursts in and barks first, alright. Seriously, Itachi was right on the money, huh... hmm?" He looked over at Sasori without really moving his head.

The blonde's sapphire eyes shifted to Gaara's face. Nemu looked and looked but she couldn't identify any emotion other than utter heartbreak. "Gaara!" he yelled. "What the hell are you doing? Come on, why are you just lying there? Get up...! Gaara! Answer me! What are you, deaf? Come on, knock it off already!"

It was hard to watch and to hear. Nemu felt tears springing to her eyes; this boy cared deeply about the Kazekage, and Deidara and Sasori's mission... what _had_ they really done?

The masked man stopped him with just his voice. "Enough, Naruto! You know full well that..." He trailed off, looking down.

Deidara nodded, draping his arm over his knee. "Your friend's right. You know it, too. He's been dead for a while now. Hmm..." He reached down and tapped Gaara's face.

Nemu's eyes widened in horror. Their mission had been... to assassinate the Kazekage? No... her master wasn't capable of such a thing, and neither was Deidara...

The blonde just continued to glare at all of them. His eyes shifted to Nemu, and she felt them boring into her soul. It was painful but she couldn't look away. "And you..." His eyes narrowed. "You don't look like them! What the hell are you doing with these people? And you were... you had your face in that guy's robe like he could keep you safe, and..." He growled. "How can you trust people like _this_ to protect you?"

It was Sasori's turn to add something, even if just one word. "Well..."

Deidara chuckled, and his arm found its way around Nemu's waist. "Oh, yeah. That's him alright, hmm. And you know what? Nemu-chan here... it's simple to answer why she trusts us. She trusts anybody, really, hmm. It's a... flaw of hers. But it's adorable too, isn't it? Hmm?"

The blonde's scowl at them intensified. "... Give him back..." he uttered in a low voice. "_Give Gaara back, you damn_...!" He ran to attack them, and Nemu shrunk back to hide behind Deidara, afraid this boy would hurt _her_ as well.

The other man, the silver-haired one, rushed in front of him and prevented him from going any farther. "Cool it. Charge in without thinking and we're done for."

Sasori looked over at Deidara and Gaara's corpse. Nemu didn't miss the

fraction of a second that his eyes flickered to her before going back to the bomber and deceased Kazekage.

Deidara apparently didn't miss the gaze either, for he raised an eyebrow at his partner. "What? Somethin' on your mind, Sasori, my man?"

Sasori spoke in his deep, Hiruko voice. "I'll hold onto him..."

Deidara's face switched to a look of surprise. "Huh?"

"Since it appears that Jinchuriki will stop at nothing to get him back," Sasori simplified.

Deidara closed his eyes, smirk never leaving his face. "Hmm. Yeah, that's putting it lightly."

"Why don't you just hold on to Nemu instead?"

Deidara shook his head. "Well, my man, I doubt that you wanna hear this, but I'll just go ahead and say it anyway. I think I'll take care of the Jinchuriki, hmm."

Sasori cast a sideways glare at the other. "Look... our quota is one apiece. Don't push your luck, Deidara."

Deidara made a "hmmph" noise. "An artist must always seek ever-greater stimulation, hmm... lest his senses go dull on him, my man." He dragged Nemu out from behind him (for the second time since they'd met) and took her hand in his. Something slimy brushed the palm of Nemu's hand, and she looked down in shock to see that there were mouths on Deidara's hands... and one of the tongues was currently lapping at her own hand. "Rumor has it the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is pretty powerful, hmm. A canvas truly worthy of my artistry, hmm." He looked up, his only visible baby blue eye making contact with Nemu's green ones. "Would you like to see a demonstration of my art, Nemu-chan? Hmm?"

Sasori scoffed. "What? Those pyrotechnics of yours, art? Art is a work of beauty, captured... and left for posterity. Art is eternal beauty."

It was Deidara's turn to scoff. "Eternal beauty? Are you kidding me? Look, don't get me wrong - as a fellow artist, I respect your point of view. But true art is fleeting. A flash of beauty burning brightly, and then vanishing in a heartbeat. Hmm."

Sasori growled at him "... What did you say?"

The pink-haired girl on the other side of the cave spoke quietly. "I... I don't get it. What's with them?"

Honestly, though she didn't want to agree with the enemy, Nemu wondered the exact same thing. Were they _seriously_ having an art fight in the middle of a potential battle? They were both crazy! They should be getting out of here, not arguing about what art was!

"Apparently, Deidara, one of us doesn't understand what true art is."

"Ah, that would be _you_, my friend, hmm."

She could hear the blonde boy getting mad again. "You lousy, rotten...!"

"Nonsense. Eternal beauty is what constitutes _real_ art."

"Don't be absurd. True art only lasts a moment."

Nemu wasn't quite sure how much more of this she could take. If she had to listen to any more of the two of them bickering, she was sure her head was going to explode. She tugged on Deidara's ponytail, whining lowly. "D-Deidara-senpai, do you two really think it's wise to...?"

He waved her off, more interested in his argument with Sasori than her at the moment. His hand had long since let go of hers.

The blonde boy had finally had it, obviously. "_Enough is enough_!" He pulled out a scroll, unwrapped it, and out poofed a giant shuriken. Not really pleased with his method of mediation, she was glad at least _somebody_ had enough sense to try and get the two artists to shut up.

What happened next was almost unbelievable. Still engaged in a glaring contest with Deidara, Sasori couldn't have seen the shuriken coming, nor where it was headed. But Hiruko's tail whipped up and blocked it, causing it to rebound off and plant itself firmly in the ground.

The blonde gasped, and Nemu's eyes widened in surprise. That was impossible...!

Sasori was still busy arguing with Deidara. "Are you _trying_ to make me angry?"

Deidara held up his hands in a classic "Dude, I'm innocent" pose. "Hey, easy. I told ya you wouldn't wanna hear it, didn't I? Give me a break, will ya, hmm?"

Sasori made Hiruko's tail dangle just a few feet away from Deidara's face, and a drop of blue poison dripped off it. "I don't have to remind you what happens when I get angry, do I? Why don't you explain it to me again, Deidara?"

"Hmm." Deidara stood up, Art is one thing and one thing only." His right hand spit out a glob of clay, and Nemu considered herself insanely lucky that she wasn't holding that hand anymore. He formed it into a bird with his fingers, and Nemu blinked. But that was so fast...! Nobody should be able to form a sculpture like that so quickly! "The explosion itself! Hmm!" He tossed the bird into the air, and did a handsign. When the smoke from the handsign cleared, Nemu saw that it had grown - it looked exactly like the one he'd picked her up on. She heard the silver-haired man and the blonde gasp as they looked at it. The bird let out a grinding screech, and bent down, picking up Gaara in its mouth.

Deidara smirked, gesturing to his bird. "See? It's not even in the same league as your grotesque puppet show. Hmm."

Sasori aimed Hiruko's tail to jab Deidara with it, but the bomber avoided it by leaping up onto his bird.

Sasori made a noise of disgust. "If you're going to be an idiot, take Nemu with you!" Hiruko's tail bumped Nemu on the backside, pushing her forward to the bird. "Just make sure you don't get her killed!"

Deidara chuckled and nodded, holding his hand down to Nemu. "Come on, Nemu-chan!"

Even as Nemu reached for Deidara's hand, she could feel the blonde boy's eyes on her, burning into her back, asking her how she could do this. She hopped up and got behind Deidara, throwing one leg over each side of the bird. "Hold on now, Nemu-chan," Deidara warned. "Just like last time." She did as he instructed and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tightly. She hated the feeling that she was going to fall off any second, but it couldn't really be helped.

Deidara gave Sasori a salute as his bird lifted off the ground. "See you around, my man! I'll keep Nemu safe!" He flew out, taking Nemu with him.

Pretty much as soon as they got outside, Nemu heard the blonde boy shouting after them. "Just where the hell do you think you're goin'?"

Nemu looked down to see that the silver-haired man had come out as well, and was by the blonde. She held tighter to Deidara, hoping he would protect her from any harm.

She could see Deidara rolling his eyes. "Great. He's tagging along too, huh?"

He clicked his tongue, then looked back at her. "Hold on really tight, Nemu-chan. This is gonna be a bumpy ride."

**LONGEST. CHAPTER. **_**YET**_**.**

**Hey sexeh peoples! (XD Sorry, I call everybody that. I'll see one of my friends coming and I'll be all like "Hey sexy!" or "Hey hot stuff!" XD They're awesome peoples... lol) Thankies for all the reviews... KATARINA. Since she's the only one reviewing. EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE ARE CLICKING ON THIS STOREH. XD You people are hopeless... jk, jk... but seriously. Review time. Click the purple button at the bottom of the page.**

**Sasori: ... You're a pushy little bitch, aren't you?**

**Me: TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE, HMM, DANNA-CHAN**

**BTW, all the dialogue starting when Naruto comes in was taken straight from the English dubbed episode, except for when Nemu's talking or when someone's talking to her.**

**Well... here's teh preview...**

_It was the silver-haired man who had the courage to speak first. "What the fuck are you?"_

_She attempted to stand up and dust herself off, barely managing to stay standing. Deidara was right; she did feel weak. Her legs were wobbly, and the joints in her arms felt like they were loose. She'd have to ask Sasori to tighten them when he got back... "U-Um, I'm..." She gulped, taking a few deep breaths. "... Very tired..."_

_The woman stood up and took her by the arm. "What's your name?"_

"_Kurosuna no Nemu."_

"_Age?"_

"_Thirty-six."_

"_You look a lot younger."_

"_That's because I'm a puppet."_


	8. Waiting

Nemu held on to Deidara's midsection as tightly as she was able as his bird circled the skies above the blonde and the silver-haired man. "D-Deidara-senpai? What are we going to do...? It's two against one."

"Two against one? I've got you here with me, hmm."

"I don't have any of my puppets... and _you_ can't control me. Only a puppet wielder can take control of me. You can't create chakra strings, can you?"

"Well... I probably could... but I'd never stoop so low as to copy my man. Hmm. Besides, they'd probably snap very easily." He shook his head, pushing his bangs back to reveal that he wore a scope over his left eye. "No... I think I'd better just send you back to base, hmm. You have chakra left?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how much?"

Nemu didn't want to have to drag out her chakra monitor again. She thought, and remembered that when she'd had it out before, it had read 80%. Then she'd used 25%... then twenty-five again. So she'd used 50%. Eighty minus fifty was thirty. "I have thirty percent left."

"Damn... if you use a Transportation Jutsu, you're only going to have five percent left. Hmm. You'd collapse upon getting back to base." He reached back and a lump of clay was deposited into the lap of her white skirt. "This is some of my clay that's already been infused with my chakra. It's got enough to raise your chakra ten percent. That should give you enough to have fifteen percent left over. You might feel weak... but you probably won't pass out. All you have to do is absorb the chakra."

"How do I absorb...?"

"Chew on it."

"... Excuse me?"

Deidara sighed. "Yes, damn it, I _know_ other people find it disgusting, hmm! But it works! You don't have to eat it, just chew on it for about a minute and it'll boost your chakra. It looks like a lot now, but once you put it in your mouth that'll stop, hmm. It's not really that much to chew on. I could probably give you a slightly bigger one so you'd have twenty percent more... but I need to conserve. This'll at least keep you alive and awake. Just do it, hmm!"

Nemu took a deep breath, and tossed the wad of clay into her mouth. She chomped down on it with her teeth, chewing fast as she could. She nearly gagged and spit it out, but she held herself back. It had a taste like rubber mixed with dirt. "Ech, ugh..."

Deidara scoffed. "I know, it tastes disgusting. How the hell can you even taste it? You're a frickin' puppet!"

"I _have_ taste buds," she answered, but it came out muffled since she was chewing.

"Che... whatever, hmm. Hurry up."

Nemu counted out "One, Konohagakure" sixty times, then spit the clay out, aiming for the ground. "Okay... I'm done."

"Alright, now do a Transportation Jutsu."

"But I don't know what the base..."

"You've been to Sasori-danna's room, haven't you, hmm? Just imagine yourself there. And ask to see Leader-sama, and explain that you're my man's puppet, hmm. If necessary, tell him Deidara sent you."

"O-Okay..." She made the handsign. "Bye, Deidara-senpai."

"See you later, hmm."

-xxx-

This time, Nemu _did_ fall flat on her face. Well, not really her face - she cleverly avoided that part. But she did fall onto her stomach and chest, still not quite getting the hang of Transportation Jutsu. She rarely used it, and she wasn't good with keeping her balance whilst doing it.

She saw that she had fallen in the middle of what looked like a living area. At the moment, there were two people looking at her: a man with slicked-back silver hair and pinkish-purple eyes who wore a pendant shaped like an upside-down triangle in a circle, and a woman with blue hair and gold eyes who had a piercing on her lip and a flower in her hair. They both wore the red-cloud-studded black cloak, like Sasori and Deidara.

It was the silver-haired man who had the courage to speak first. "What the fuck are you?"

She attempted to stand up and dust herself off, barely managing to stay standing. Deidara was right; she did feel weak. Her legs were wobbly, and the joints in her arms felt like they were loose. She'd have to ask Sasori to tighten them when he got back... "U-Um, I'm..." She gulped, taking a few deep breaths. "... Very tired..."

The woman stood up and took her by the arm. "What's your name?"

"Kurosuna no Nemu."

"Age?"

"Thirty-six."

"You look a lot younger."

"That's because I'm a puppet. I'm Master Sasori's puppet."

"Then why the hell haven't we ever seen you before?" the silver-haired man asked, standing up as well.

"Shut up." The blue-haired woman gave him a "Get outta here" wave. "You'll have to forgive slash ignore Hidan. He's a potty-mouthed Jashinist."

"And _damn_ proud of it, you blue-haired bitch!"

"D-Deidara-senpai... told me to... to ask for Leader-sama?"

"Pein. Alright, then, I'll take you." The blue-haired woman took Nemu by the hand and led her out of the room. She turned back and looked at the silver-haired man, Hidan. "... And you had _better_ not sacrifice the TV while I'm gone."

"... Hey, you only make that mistake once..."

Nemu followed the woman. She wondered what this "Leader-sama" or "Pein" would be like. If he had a name like "Pein", which sounded an awful lot like "pain", she could guess he wouldn't exactly be the friendly type.

"You're so quiet," the blue-haired woman commented. "Something wrong?"

"Master Sasori always told me... not to speak unless I was spoken to first."

"That's fine when you're around him... but around the rest of us you're allowed to talk. Okay?"

Nemu nodded. "Okay..."

"By the way, my name's Konan."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Konan."

"You don't have to call me that. Just Konan."

"Okay."

Finally they reached a door. Konan gave three short knocks. "Pein, are you in there?"

"Enter," came a deep, intimidating voice from inside.

Konan opened the door and pulled Nemu inside. "Come on, nothing to be afraid of, Nemu."

Nemu stepped in and took a breath. Sitting behind a desk was a man with flaming orange hair, and eyes to match. He also had numerous piercings adorning his face, and several in his ears. He wore the black robe with the red clouds, which she assumed to be the Akatsuki uniform.

"Pein, this is Nemu," Konan said, letting go of Nemu's hand. "She is Sasori's puppet, and she needs a room."

The man, Pein, raised an eyebrow. "Strange that we've never seen you around before, Miss Nemu."

Konan shot Nemu a sideways glance, that clearly told her to speak for herself.

"When Master Sasori left the village twenty years ago, he did not take me with him," she finally answered. "He only returned recently... to claim me."

"Hmm, well..." Pein closed his eyes. "I suggest she stay in Sasori's room then, if she's his puppet."

"Just needed approval, thank you." Konan took Nemu by the arm. "Come on, Nemu. You can spend some time with Tobi while you wait for Sasori to get back."

She remembered Sasori mentioning Tobi. He'd said that he was an idiot... and that Deidara didn't like him.

Oh boy, what had she gotten herself into?

**OK... next chapter is really sad, and the chapter after that is EVEN SADDER. I'm sorry, guys... but it was essential to the plot's development and also the further character development of our beloved Nemu-chan! So uh... yeah. WELL BYE FOR NOW!**

**Sasori: *walking through* Ai-chan, preview.**

**OH YEAH! Here's the preview... whoops... XD**

"_Master Sasori! Deidara-senpai!" She ran toward the source of the noise._

_Before she could get very far, she was stopped short. Deidara was walking into the room, but... it was only Deidara. His robe was torn, and his hair was messy. There were even a few cuts on his face. As far as Nemu could tell, he wasn't in the shape she'd left him in. But where was Sasori?_

_She moved out of the way and allowed Deidara through. He looked white as a ghost, his eyes half-closed - it almost looked like he thought he was dreaming or something. He shuffled right past her, not even giving a glance, and simply collapsed down on the couch, beside Tobi. He let out a sigh, then took a few deep breaths, looking as if he were about to speak. And then he did._

_"Good news or bad news first, hmm?"_


	9. Lay Me Down

As it turned out, Tobi was probably the only nice, cheerful person in the Akatsuki. He wasn't an actual member yet, so he didn't wear the same uniform as the others - instead he sported a long-sleeved black turtleneck with several metal pins on the sleeves, as well as black pants. But his most prominent feature was the orange mask that covered his face. It reminded Nemu somewhat of a lollipop, with a swirling design that was centered around a hole for his right eye. The only part of his head it revealed was his dark, spiky hair.

He was sweet, though. The first thing he said when Konan introduced them was, "Would you like to be friends with Tobi, pretty puppet girl?"

For the most part, she stayed in the living room with Tobi. They weren't really allowed anywhere else, since Konan wanted them to stay there because Pein needed to know where they were. And if they left the living room, he wouldn't know.

But Tobi did a fairly good job of keeping her entertained - he took the job seriously, at least. He sat beside her and talked to her, turning the television to shows he thought she'd like. He had asked several times if she'd like a snack, but she wasn't in the mood to eat. She wanted Sasori and Deidara to come back. She couldn't think of a single reason why they shouldn't be back by now.

It was nearly seven at night before a breakthrough was made. Nemu was still sitting with Tobi in the living room, but he had turned the volume on the TV down. He was reading to her from one of his favorite books. "But his mother said..." Tobi looked over at Nemu, staring at her through the hole in his mask. "What did his mother say, Nemu-chan?"

"'No, David,'" Nemu recited perfectly, her voice hollow and devoid of emotion.

Tobi didn't keep reading though. Instead he closed the book and put it down on the table. "What's the matter, Nemu-chan? You aren't supposed to say it like that. You're s'posed to say it like you're mad. But you're... not. You're sad. Why are you sad?"

"I miss Master Sasori and Deidara-senpai. Why aren't they back yet? They should be. They're skilled ninja... it shouldn't be taking them this long."

"They probably used up a lotta chakra in their fights and hafta walk back to base." Tobi leaned over and hugged her. "It's a long way from Suna to here - a couple hours' worth of walkin'. Ha-ha, I bet Deidara-senpai's the one slowing them down."

"Yeah... I guess so." She still wasn't really convinced. She'd had Tobi help her use that oil, on all her joints, but... they still felt stiff. She could still move, it was just harder than normal. When her joints were stiff even though she was well-oiled, it usually meant something bad was going to happen, or had already happened. Not knowing was slowly killing her.

Tobi saw that she was still upset and nudged her shoulder with his. "Come on, Nemu-chan! Let's play Monopoly, I always beat Deidara-senpai at that game. I'll let you be the racecar!"

"Yeah... okay."

Just as Tobi was getting out the box to set up the board game, a loud bang resounded through the base, like somebody slamming a door. Nemu, swelling with hope that it was her friends, leapt up. "Master Sasori! Deidara-senpai!" She ran toward the source of the noise.

Before she could get very far, she was stopped short. Deidara was walking into the room, but... it was _only_ Deidara. His robe was torn, and his hair was messy. There were even a few cuts on his face. As far as Nemu could tell, he wasn't in the shape she'd left him in. But where was Sasori?

She moved out of the way and allowed Deidara through. He looked white as a ghost, his eyes half-closed - it almost looked like he thought he was dreaming or something. He shuffled right past her, not even giving a glance, and simply collapsed down on the couch, beside Tobi. He let out a sigh, then took a few deep breaths, looking as if he were about to speak. And then he did.

"Good news or bad news first, hmm?"

Nemu hurried to his side. She knelt down and took his hand in hers, not even minding the saliva this time. "D-Deidara-senpai... where is Master Sasori? Is he close behind you? Why didn't you wait for him?"

Deidara shook his head, displacing his bangs. "I guess you want the bad news first then, hmm."

Now Nemu was really scared. What the hell had happened? Where was Sasori? Her artificial heart pounded inside her ribcage, making synthetic

blood rush past her ears. "Deidara-senpai, tell me! _Where is he, where is he_?" Even as she said this, she could guess what had happened, and tears came to her eyes. "_Where's my master_?"

Deidara reached up, and ran a hand through his blonde bangs. "... My man... he's dead. Guess his art didn't last forever, after all, hmm?"

"No! No, no, no!" Nemu felt her legs give way, and she went crashing to the ground. Something caught her before she fell all the way, and she looked up to see Tobi holding her. The tears cascaded down her face like miniature waterfalls as her breath hitched in her throat. She was trying to form a coherent sentence, but it was difficult when you couldn't get enough air. She took a big gulp and let out a shriek. "_Master Sasori, you can't leave me again_!" She brought her hands up to clutch at her head, clawing at her hair. "How do you think I felt the first time you left me? And now you're going to do it again? No, you can't! You can't leave me!" She lifted her head and glared at Deidara. "You're lying! You're lying to me! Why would you lie about something like that? What's wrong with you?" All at once she felt horrible about accusing Deidara of something that probably wasn't true, and she cried all over again. "_Master, I can't lose you_!" She sobbed a few times, and allowed another scream past her lips. "_I just got you back_!" Her hands immediately flew to the left side of her chest, where she felt a tight ripping from whatever was already broken. "_I just got you back and now you broke me even more_!"

Deidara stood up, walked over, and planted a light kiss on the top of Nemu's head, his lips just barely brushing her hair. "... I'm sorry, Nemu-chan. Hmm. I really am. If I could've done anything..." She could swear she saw a sparkling like tears in his unprotected eye. "I'm so sorry... hmm..."

**... Yeah. I know, it was really sad. I almost cried writing it.**

**Here's the preview, I'm sorry if anybody's really really sad... :'(**

"_It's okay, Nemu-chan," Tobi reassured her, squeezing her hand. "We're almost there."_

"_I know."_

"_Are you scared to see, Nemu-chan?"_

"_... A little, yeah."_

"_Don't be. You can't change it, Nemu-chan. And if you get too scared, Tobi will protect you. Why? Because Tobi's a good boy!"_

"_Thanks, Tobi. You're a great friend."_

_Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they arrived. The clearing of sand and rock was demolished - blocks of boulders and dried-up earth lie strewn everywhere. "Nemu," Zetsu spoke up - his white side speaking to her. "Do you think you could locate the body for us?" His black half growled. "**What are you talking about? She couldn't do it. She's too emotionally compromised. Let Tobi find it.**" His white side came to her defense. "Nemu can do it, don't worry. Go on, Nemu."_


	10. Love That Lets Go

**... Don't shoot? I'm sorry I haven't updated this in a while! I just haven't been in a Sasori mood... but I'm uploading on _Thanksgiving_, so... be thankful! XD I don't know when I'll get the next one out, but the next one's gonna be sadder than this one... so get your Kleenex ready! XD**

**Enjoy! ^^**

Nemu asked Pein if she was allowed to go. Once she found out that Tobi and Zetsu (who by the way was apparently the business end of a Venus flytrap) were going to the battle site to retrieve Sasori's ring, she was prepared to get down on her knees and _beg_ if she had to. She had to say good-bye to Sasori, to see him one last time, and... she had to make sure he knew how she felt.

Pein allowed her to go, but only after she promised she wouldn't talk to anybody but Tobi or Zetsu. Tobi had given his solemn vow to keep his eye on her - though what it meant coming from him, she'd never know - and that had been good enough for Pein. So she was allowed to go, but they had to wait until eight o'clock to go, just to make sure it was dark enough that they wouldn't be seen.

Deidara had lent Nemu his Akatsuki cloak, seeing as she didn't have her own yet. He said it would both conceal her and make sure she wasn't cold. At least she knew he cared about her.

She said good-bye to Deidara and Konan, and left with Tobi and Zetsu.

They walked all the way there to the battle site. Nemu held tightly to Tobi's hand the entire way. She was tired and cold and sad, but she had to see Sasori one last time - just to say good-bye.

"It's okay, Nemu-chan," Tobi reassured her, squeezing her hand. "We're almost there."

"I know."

"Are you scared to see, Nemu-chan?"

"... A little, yeah."

"Don't be. You can't change it, Nemu-chan. And if you get too scared, Tobi will protect you. Why? Because Tobi's a good boy!"

"Thanks, Tobi. You're a great friend."

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they arrived. The clearing of sand and rock was demolished - blocks of boulders and dried-up earth lie strewn everywhere. "Nemu," Zetsu spoke up - his white side speaking to her. "Do you think you could locate the body for us?" His black half growled. "**What are you talking about? She couldn't do it. She's too emotionally compromised. Let Tobi find it.**" His white side came to her defense. "Nemu can do it, don't worry. Go on, Nemu."

"Uh..." Nemu swallowed hard and took a few tentative steps forward. Maybe the black half was right; maybe she _was_ too distraught to look for Sasori's corpse. She navigated her way through the rubble shakily, afraid to find his body. Her mind flashed back to numerous times in their childhood, where he would hide from her and scare her by jumping out of the oddest places. A giant vase, for instance... another time in a laundry basket... in the closets... under the beds...

Where was he hiding now?

At last, she stumbled upon a large hunk of rock obstructing what looked like... Sasori? She flew to her knees, eyes wide as she touched his shoulder in amazement. This couldn't be him! He looked exactly like he did before he left the village! It was like he had been bestowed with the same abilities she had herself...

She moved her hand upward, stroking his face. Eyes drooping, she couldn't decide how she felt about it. She was pleased to have finally gotten close enough to touch him. But he wouldn't be letting her touch him if he wasn't dead. She wanted him not to be dead more than anything. She didn't care if he wouldn't let her touch him, as long as he was alive...

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Zetsu. "Nemu," his white side told her, "why don't you go see if there's anything else around? Explore, see if you can find anything suspicious."

Nemu nodded, and turned around. "What are you going to do?"

"**That's none of your business.** We're going to prepare his body to take back to base. After all, I can't eat it. **It'd taste terrible.** You shush up. Now go on, Nemu. I'll call you back when we're ready to leave. **And you had better come.**"

Nemu gulped and left. She peeked around a couple of rocks to find a pink-haired teenager sitting against the structure. She crept over and sat down beside the girl. "Hello...?" She shook the pinkette's shoulder. "I saw you earlier... wake up..."

The girl's eyes opened, and Nemu was surprised to find that they were just a little lighter in color than her own. "Oh... hi. Yeah, I saw you too. Naruto was freaking out because you were with..." She shook her head, shifting her position. "Is your name Nemu? Kurosuna no Nemu?"

"Yes... why? What's yours?"

"Oh... I'm Sakura. But that's not really important. Did you know Gaara?"

"Is he... still dead?"

"No... but Lady Chiyo... she made you, right? And you're attached to her?"

"She was... my creator. She... what's the matter with her? Is she okay?"

"She... gave up her own life to save Gaara. She gave the rest of her life energy to him so he could come back. He's alive. But Lady Chiyo... she's dead."

"Oh..." Nemu curled her knees up to her chest, feeling tears stinging at her eyes once again. She'd lost two of her most important people in one day? It wasn't fair... "Okay..."

"I'm really sorry, Nemu, but... none of us asked her to do it. She said she... she _had_ to do it. She was talking about... how everything she'd done was wrong... and that she could make up for it... by saving Gaara." Sakura reached into her pocket. "She told me to wait for you... and give you these. Are they yours?"

When Nemu saw her first felt puppets, Sesshoku and Chikara, in Sakura's hand, she couldn't snatch them up fast enough. She held them close and tears slipped from her eyes; she couldn't hold them in anymore. "They were my... my first puppets. Ones I didn't need chakra strings to control." She held up Sesshoku. "This one is mine, her name's Sesshoku." She held up Chikara. "And I made this one for Master Sasori, his name's Chikara. He liked it, but he always used it to attack Sesshoku-chan."

"Were you friends with Sasori?"

"He's my master. I wouldn't say friends, but... we grew up together. And when Deidara-senpai told me he was dead..." Nemu let out a shaky breath, resting her puppets in her lap and rubbing her arm. "I just... I'm not sure how to feel about him now. I'm not really sure how to feel about _anything_ anymore."

Sakura reached over and touched Nemu's shoulder. "Lady Chiyo and I... it was our fault. We killed him. I mean, it was... it was Lady Chiyo who gave the final blow but... I helped her kill him. I'm sorry, I just..."

Nemu shrugged, brushing some hair out of her eyes and drawing Deidara's cloak tighter around herself. "You did what you had to do. He's your enemy, right? You had orders to kill him... so you obeyed those orders. I can't say I blame you. If Master Sasori told me to kill someone... I would do it. I'm just as loyal to him as you are to whoever gave you the order to kill him."

"I really am sorry." Sakura looked up at the sky. "The moon's really pretty tonight, isn't it?"

"I guess."

Sakura's next question was unexpected, but hit the nail on the head as to what Nemu was thinking. "You loved him, didn't you?"

"He was my master. How could I not love him?"

Sakura shifted to sit on her knees. "When Lady Chiyo and I faced Sasori... I'll admit that I thought he was evil. I saw him as too far beyond redemption to be saved. But you... you seem like a good person. You didn't... do anything to hurt anybody." She took one of Nemu's hands in hers. "If someone like you could love someone like him... maybe he wasn't all bad. Maybe there was some good still in him." She looked down, letting go of Nemu's hand. "Lady Chiyo said... he left the village a long time ago. Did you miss him?"

"I..." Nemu ran an arm across her eyes to get rid of the leaks. "He left two decades ago... when we were both still so young. I didn't understand... then again I rarely understand why we act the way we do. It's hard to comprehend, isn't it?" She sighed, shaking her head. "I was _sixteen years old_. He was only a year younger than I was. I was so confused when he left... for a long time I thought it was my fault, even though he told me before he left that it wasn't. And I just... I waited. I sat and looked out that little window, and I waited... for twenty years."

"Twenty years." Sakura sighed. "That's a long time..."

Nemu shrugged. "I had time. I'm a puppet, after all... I was in no danger of dying if I didn't engage in combat. And it was rarely that I did." She lifted her arms and allowed Sakura to look at the entirety of her body. "I have very few mechanisms that can function as weapons. No, I wasn't used for combat often... so I knew I would survive. I watched for him... I lulled myself into the false hope that he would come back. He told me he would... Lady Chiyo knew he would not, but I did not wish to accept that. So I fooled myself. But he did... he came back. And the day he does come back..." Her shoulders shook as she let the tears escape from her eyes. "He gets himself killed. It's almost like it's a nightmare."

"I know how you feel, Nemu. I lost somebody I loved too... I know how bad it hurts." Sakura put her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "If... if it makes you feel any better... the last thing he said was your name."

Nemu looked over. "Really?"

Sakura nodded, letting her hand slide down and hold Nemu's. "He had told me about a spy he'd had in Orochimaru's group, so that we could meet with him... and then he asked for my hand. I held his hand, and he said he was pretending it was you because... my eyes looked like yours." She sighed. "And when that was over... he looked up and said, 'Tell Nemu... that I'm sorry.'" Her eyes drifted down to where their hands were clasped. "He's sorry, Nemu."

Nemu began to cry all over again. "I know, Master... I know you're sorry... I know... I forgave you twenty years ago and you haven't lost that forgiveness. I missed you... I still miss you..."

Sakura stood up, sighing. Nemu could see tears sparkling in her eyes as well, but she was unwilling to shed them. "Nemu... I guess there's not much chance of you coming back to Suna, is there? I know Gaara would really like to have you back. He seemed... sad when Kankuro said you'd run off with the people who had killed him in the first place. He's proud of you."

"Oh, I know but..." Nemu got to her feet as well. "I don't think I can, Sakura. I mean... me staying and serving Akatsuki would be what Master Sasori would have wanted, after all. I'm sorry. But... if you get the chance, will you tell Gaara-sama that I'm safe and I will make sure nobody ever hurts him again."

Sakura nodded. "Alright, Nemu - I will. I hope you find purpose in Akatsuki. And don't worry." She smiled a little. "It gets easier... living without the one you love, I mean? I know it seems hard now, but... it'll get easier the longer you go on." She took a few steps. "I'm going back now. Good luck."

"You too." Nemu watched Sakura go, walking off into the black night, and she sighed, looking down. Where was she supposed to go now? A puppet without their master was useless.

All of a sudden she heard Zetsu's black half calling her. "**Nemu! Get your little puppet ass back over here or we're leaving without you!**"

Nemu shot back to where they were. She saw Zetsu beginning to walk off, while Tobi was messing around with his arm down a hole in the rocks. She decided to be nice and go help Tobi. "What happened, Tobi? Are you stuck?"

"N-No! I dropped Sasori-sama's ring! I guess I shouldn't've been tossing it... it just fell!"

"Let me try." She pulled Tobi's arm out (maybe he _was_ stuck) and slid her own hand down in the hole, feeling around for the ring. She flattened herself down to extend her arm further. Where was it?

Before she could search any more, something smashed down on her hand and she cried out. "Ouch! T-Tobi, help!"

"Nemu-chan!" Tobi took hold of Nemu's shoulders and began to pull. "Wh-What happened, Nemu-chan?"

"Now _I'm_ stuck!" She tried to yank her arm out, to little avail.

"**Tobi, Nemu, hurry the hell up!**"

"A-Ah!" Tobi let go of Nemu and faced the other way. "J-Just a minute, Mr. Zetsu! Mr. Zetsu, Nemu-chan is stuck!"

"_Tobi_!" Nemu screeched as her face banged against a rock when he let her go.

"Nemu-chan!" He began to yank on her again, grunting as he tried desperately to free his friend.

"**What do you two not get about 'hurry up'?**"

"We're coming, Mr. Zetsu!"

Nemu sighed as she resigned herself to one fact: this was her family now. A very screwed up family, but _her_ family nonetheless.

She had to smile at that.

**PREVIEW!**

_She buried herself deeper into his chest, sobbing and clutching at his shirt. "S-Senpai... please. Please tell me I'm not the only one who misses him so. Nobody else seems to care that he is dead - some of them seem relieved. Tobi is only concerned about whether or not he can join the Akatsuki now. Kakuzu-senpai said it's one less mouth to feed... b-but... just tell me that you miss him too. I need to know I'm not alone in this."_

"_You're not, Nemu-chan." He held her tighter, sighing a little. She still didn't mind the feeling of his hand-mouths licking her; it was almost like she'd gotten used to it. "I'm sad too, hmm. My man was special. He wasn't just my master..." He shook his head, placing his face in her hair. "He was my best friend. Hmm."_


End file.
